Projectile dispersing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A projectile is provided which may evenly disperse an inhibiting substance upon impacting a target. The projectile may comprise a shell having a plurality of grooves formed on the shell&#39;s exterior surface about an axis of symmetry. The grooves may be equidistantly spaced apart from adjacent grooves. The shell defines an interior cavity that may be filled with a mixture comprising an inhibiting substance and filler with the inhibiting substance being operative to inhibit the motor function of a person and the filler being an inert material which does not react with the inhibiting substance. Preferably, the inhibiting substance will comprise substantially less than 50% of the shell&#39;s interior cavity, and preferably about 2% to 1% of the shell&#39;s interior cavity. The projectile may be shot at the target such that the projectile breaks open at the grooves to form a cloud of the inhibiting substance such that the target inhales the inhibiting substance and is passivated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to projectiles having an external configuration for enhancing the disbursement of motor inhibiting substances.

As is well known, police and other law enforcement personnel are issued side arms (e.g., pistols) for the purpose of handling life threatening situations during their daily work, such as responding to armed bank robberies, handling dangerous criminals, and other similar situations and persons. However, law enforcement personnel are also often called upon to handle situations that do not require use of deadly force, such as crowd control at a demonstration. Nonetheless, law enforcement personnel typically still carry a side arm to handle both life threatening situations as well as non-life threatening situations. Accordingly, the wide range of situations which law enforcement personnel are called upon to handle may place the law enforcement personnel in a dilemma as to whether to use lethal force in a non life threatening situation. Even though lethal force is clearly not warranted in many such instances, law enforcement will nonetheless use excessive lethal weaponry due to lack of any viable alternative. In such situations, it is often imperative that law enforcement personnel be provided tools having varying levels of force (i.e., both non-lethal weapons and lethal weapons) in order to deal with the wide variety of situations in which they are called to handle so that they are not placed in such dilemma.

Fortunately, there are non-lethal force devices to assist law enforcement personnel in handling non-life threatening situations. Exemplary of such devices include non-lethal projectiles that are operative to deliver an inhibiting substance to a living target, which expressly includes those projectiles disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,441 to Woodall, et al., issued Nov. 14, 2000 entitled FRANGIBLE PAYLOAD-DISPENSING PROJECTILE, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,965,839; 6,546,874, and 6,393,992, all being issued to Vasel, et al., on Oct. 12, 1999, Apr. 15, 2003 and May 28, 2002, respectively, all entitled NON-LETHAL PROJECTILE FOR DELIVERING AN INHIBITING SUBSTANCE TO A LIVING TARGET. The teachings of all such references are expressly incorporated herein by reference. Generally, such projectiles are operative be shot at a person to quickly passivate the person who may be irate or non-compliant with the law enforcement personnel's request. In particular, the shell bursts open upon impacting the person and releases the motor inhibiting material. The person inhales the material and is passivated by the motor inhibiting material.

Unfortunately, prior art non-lethal force devices do not evenly dispersed the motor inhibiting material into the air upon impacting the person. As such, certain portions of the cloud which forms upon impact lack a sufficient amount of motor inhibiting material such that the person to be passivated (i.e., target) does not inhale a sufficient amount of the motor inhibiting material. In such instances, after the person is shot with the prior art device, the person may walk away to escape inhaling a sufficient amount of inhibiting material to passivate him/her.

To address the possibility that the person to be passivated does not inhale or otherwise come into contact with a sufficient amount of the motor inhibiting material, prior art devices typically increase the amount of toxic motor inhibiting material contained within the shell to ensure that the person inhales a sufficient amount of motor inhibiting material. The use of additional toxic material substantially increases the danger in manufacturing, shipping and handling of such projectiles, which are typically subject to government regulation. Moreover, in using such projectiles, the targeted person can often inhale more than a sufficient amount of motor inhibiting material so as to expose the person to toxic levels of the material thereby leading to physical injury or even death. The reason is that the cloud which forms around the person's nose/mouth may contain a high concentration of the motor inhibiting material.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved projectile.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the present invention, an improved projectile is provided. The projectile may comprise a shell and a mixture of a motor inhibiting substance and filler. The shell encapsulates the mixture such that the inhibiting substance may be delivered directly to a person to be passivated (i.e., the target). For example, the projectile may be shot at the target via a gun such as an air operated piston (e.g., paint ball gun).

The shell may be spherical in nature and have grooves formed on its exterior surface which extend between north and south poles of the shell, with the north and south poles being at opposed ends of the shell. The grooves assist in dispersing the inhibiting substance by splitting open when the projectile impacts the target and providing passageways for the inhibiting substance to escape the cavity of the shell and form a cloud proximate the point of impact. The cloud may be inhaled by the target and the target's motor function may be inhibited by the inhibiting substance.

The shell grooves may be formed about an axis of symmetry wherein adjacent grooves are equidistant to each other. Alternatively, each groove may be formed equidistantly spaced apart from adjacent pairs of grooves. These configurations assist the projectile in evenly dispersing the inhibiting substance despite the orientation of the shell grooves when the projectile impacts the target. In this regard, the grooves form passageways evenly in all directions despite the orientation of the grooves when the projectile impacts the target.

In another aspect of the present invention, the inhibiting substance may be inserted into the shell's cavity along with an inert material. More particularly, the inhibiting substance may be mixed with an inert material (i.e., filler) and the resultant admixture may be inserted into the shell's cavity. The inhibiting substance may be evenly distributed within the filler such that the inhibiting substance is evenly distributed within the cloud formed upon impact of the projectile onto the target. As such, the probability the target will inhale a lethal or toxic dose of the inhibiting substance is reduced. Also, the probability that the target will not inhale a sufficient amount of the inhibiting substance is reduced.

Further, the amount of inhibiting substance within each of the projectiles will be substantially less than 50% by volume with respect to the shell's cavity volume. More particularly, the amount of inhibiting substance within each of the projectiles may about 2% by volume with respect to the shell's cavity volume, and preferably around 1% or less by volume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a shell with grooves formed on the exterior surface thereof extending between a south pole and a north pole;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the shell illustrating the shape of the plurality of grooves and the mixture of substance and filler; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the projectile shot through a barrel of a gun and the substance radially dispersing on a target.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The drawings referred to within this description of the present invention are merely for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments or aspects of the present invention and not for the purposes of limiting the same. Accordingly, alternative embodiments with respect to the various aspects discussed herein are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a projectile 10 is illustrated having a shell 12. The shell 12 is illustrated as having a plurality of grooves 14 which surround the exterior surface 16 thereof. FIG. 2 illustrates a cavity 18 of the shell 12 filled with a mixture 20 of an inhibiting substance 22 and filler 24. The plurality of grooves 14 assists in providing a more effective dispersal of the substance 22 onto and around a target 26 (see FIG. 3) when the projectile 10 hits the target 26 and breaks apart upon impact. In particular, the grooves 14 provide structural weak points such that the shell 12 breaks apart to release the substance 22 within the shell's cavity 18 upon impact with the target 26. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the projectile 10 may be shot through a barrel 28 of a gun 30 such as a gas charged gun (e.g., commercial grade paint ball gun) toward the target 26 and upon impact with the target 26, the projectile 10 breaks apart such that the substance 22 is dispersed onto and around the target 26 in the form of a dust cloud. The target 26 inhales the inhibiting substance 22 and is passivated thereby. Although the substance 22 is described in this detailed description as being dispersed onto and around the target 26 in the form of a dust cloud, it is also understood that the mixture 20, which includes the substance 22 and the filler 24, is dispersed onto and around the target 26 in the form of a dust cloud.

The shell 12 may have a substantially spherical configuration such as shown in FIG. 1. Although the shell 12 of FIG. 1 has a plurality of grooves 14 circumscribing the shell 12 about an axis of symmetry 32, the exterior surface 16 of the shell 12 may still be characterized as being substantially spherical as long as the projectile 10 may be projected from the gun 30 through its barrel 28 or other projectile projecting device 30. Since the projectile projecting device 30 shown in FIG. 3 is a gun 30, it is preferable that the projectile 10 be spherical to slide through the barrel 28 when being shot therethrough. It is also contemplated that the various aspects of the present invention discussed herein may be practiced with a shell 12 having an exterior surface other than spherical depending upon the type of projectile projecting device used to deliver the projectile to the target.

The axis of symmetry 32 may be vertically oriented and pass through the center of the shell's volume, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The top portion of the shell 12 through which the axis of symmetry 32 extends may be referred to as the north pole 34 of the shell 12. Similarly, the bottom portion of the shell 12 through which the axis of symmetry 32 extends may be referred to as the south pole 36 of the shell 12. The plurality of grooves 14 may extend between the south pole 36 and the north pole 34 on the shell's exterior surface 16. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the grooves 14 may extend linearly between the south pole 36 and the north pole 34. Additionally, it is also contemplated that the grooves may have a squiggly configuration or a saw tooth configuration. The plurality of grooves 14 formed about the axis of symmetry 32 enables the projectile 10 to disburse the substance 22 contained within its cavity radially onto the target 26 and around the target 26, as shown in FIG. 3.

The plurality of grooves 14 may be spaced equidistant from each other about the axis of symmetry 32 which provides wide dispersion of the substance 22 on and around the target 26 despite orientation of the grooves 14 when the projectile 10 impacts the target 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the substance 22 will be radially disburse 360 degrees. It is also contemplated that the plurality of grooves 14 may be staggered yet attain an effective dispersal of the substance 22 onto and around the target 26. By way of example and not limitation, a plurality of groove pairs (not shown) may be formed about the exterior surface 16 of the shell 12 with each groove pair equidistantly spaced apart from adjacent groove pairs. Accordingly, it is also contemplated that the various aspect of the present invention may be variously embodied and employed with grooves 14 which are not equidistantly spaced apart.

The cavity 18 of the shell 12, as shown in FIG. 2, may be filled with the mixture 20. For example, it may be filled with the mixture 20 which may comprise a substance 22 and filler 24. Additionally, it is also contemplated that the shell's cavity 18 may be filled with only the substance. The substance 22 may be a less than lethal substance such as pepper spray, whereas, the filler 24 may be a carrier material such as an inert powder. The inhibiting substance 22 may fill less than 50% of the cavity 18 by volume, and preferably, fills about 2% of the shell's cavity 18 by volume. In contrast, the filler 24 may fill at least 50% to about 98% to 99% of the shell's cavity 18 by volume. In a highly preferred embodiment, the inhibiting substance 22 fills about 1% or less of the shell's cavity 18 by volume. In other words, the inert filler 24 may fill approximately 99% or more of the cavity 18 by volume and the substance 22 may fill 1% of the cavity 18 by volume.

Despite the low ratio of inhibiting substance 22 to inert filler 24, dispersion of the substance 22 on and around the target 26 is uniform so as to be effective in passivating the target 26 when the projectile 10 impacts the target 26. As such, the projectile 10 of the present invention utilizes substantially less inhibiting substance 22 than prior art projectiles, which in turn greatly facilitates the ability to manufacture, ship and transport such projectiles 10. As is well-known, substantial regulations exist with respect to the manufacture, shipment and use of projectiles containing high concentrations of inhibiting substances and the projectiles 10 of the present invention are believed to require far less regulatory oversight as to their manufacture, use and handling by virtue of the lower amounts of inhibiting substance 22 utilized therein.

Along these lines, the inhibiting substance 22, as stated above, may be pepper spray. More broadly, the substance 22 may be any type of motor inhibiting substance, non-lethal substance or including but not limited to pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum powder, tear gas, smoke or the like so as to impair a person's motor skills. Alternatively, the substance 22 may be a lethal substance which is mixed with the filler 24 to reduce its toxicity to a level such that the mixture 20 of the substance 22 and filler 24 is non-lethal to the target 26. The substance 22 may be provided in many different forms (e.g., gelatin or liquid) but is preferably provided in powder or particulate form. The filler 24 may be an inert material which does not chemically react with the substance 22 so as to chemically change the substance's chemical characteristics. For example, the inert filler 24 should not react with pepper spray to disable the motor impairing characteristic of pepper spray. Also, the filler 24 may be provided in many different forms such as gelatin or powder form. By way of example and not limitation, the filler 24 may be corn starch or talcum powder.

As stated above, the substance 22 may be about one to two percent by volume of the cavity 18 or one percent by volume of the filler 24 plus substance 22. The substance 22 is preferably evenly distributed within the filler 24. For example, if the filler 24 is a gelatanious material, then the substance 22 is evenly distributed within the gelatanious material. If the filler 24 is a powder, then the substance 22 is evenly distributed within the powder. Accordingly, when the projectile 10 breaks apart upon impact with the target 26, the filler 24 along with the substance 22 escapes the shell's cavity 18 radially, contacts the target's surface 38 and forms a cloud containing the substance 22, as shown in FIG. 3. The even distribution of the substance 22 within the filler 24 may be accomplished via shaking, mixing, agitating or other like methods.

The shell 12 will preferably be fabricated from a frangible material such that the shell 12 breaks apart upon impact with the target 26. Although the frangible material will break apart upon impact with the target 26, the frangible material is sufficiently strong to allow the projectile 10 to accelerate to full speed through the barrel 28 without breaking apart. As an example, the shell 12 may be fabricated from a polymer material such as thermoplastic linear polymer. Also, the polymer material may be reinforced with fibers that may be aligned to the direction of the grooves 14 such that the fibers fall in line with the grooves 14. This helps propagate any cracks 40 (see FIG. 3) that may form at the base 42 (see FIG. 2) of the groove 14 such that the entire groove 14 splits apart when the projectile 10 impacts the target 26. Accordingly, when the projectile 10 impacts the target 26, the substance 22 within the shell's cavity 18 is dispersed through the split open grooves 14, spreads onto the target 26 and creates a cloud of the substance 22 around the point of projectile impact.

More particularly, referring to the grooves 14 of the shell 12, as shown in FIG. 2, the same may have a plurality of peaks 44 and valleys 46 on the exterior surface 16 of the shell 12. The peaks 44 of the grooves 14 may form the substantially spherical configuration. Also, the peaks 44 may have a semi-circular configuration which extends between grooves 14. Also, the valleys 46 of the grooves 14 may have a V-shaped configuration such that the valleys 46 and peaks 44 form a plurality of rolling mountains with a pointed valley 46. In the alternative, the valley 46 may have a V shape configuration with a flat bottom, and the peaks 44 may have a semicircular configuration with a flat top (not shown). The surface connecting the flat tops with the flat bottoms may be curved as shown in FIG. 2 or straight. The shell 12 may have between about two to about eighteen grooves (see FIG. 2).

As stated above, the shell's exterior surface 16 may have a spherical configuration. In particular, the plurality of peaks 44 may collectively form the spherical surface, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Additionally, the interior surface 48 of the shell 12 may also have a spherical surface which may be concentric with the spherical configuration of the exterior surface 16. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the grooves 14 are similar to scores or indentations formed on the exterior surface 16 of the shell 12. This forms weak spots along the groove 14, and more particularly, at the valleys 46 of the grooves 14 which are the parts of the shell 12 with the thinnest material. Accordingly, when the projectile 10 impacts the target 26, the valleys 46 split open and through the split open valleys 46, the inhibiting substance 22 as well as the filler 24 escapes the shell's cavity 18 to form the cloud around the point of impact.

The grooves 14 may have a variable depth along the length of the grooves 14. As discussed above, the groove 14 may extend between the north and south poles 34, 36 which define the shallowest depth of the grooves 14. In particular, the grooves 14 may be less deep nearest the north and sole poles 34, 36 compared to the groove depths at the equator 50 (i.e., middle; see FIG. 1) of the shell 12. Accordingly, the groove strength, i.e., the force required to split the groove 14 open, may be greater near the north and sole poles 34, 36 compared to the groove strength at the shell's equator 50. The groove depth may be less than 1.5 mm. Preferably, the majority of the groove depth is between about 0.1 mm and about 1.5 mm. More particularly, the groove depth is between about 15% to about 75% of the shell thickness (i.e., distance between peak 44 and interior surface 48), and preferably, between about 20% to about 40%.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the projectile 10 may be fired from a gun 30. The gun 30 may be an air operated pistol much like a paint ball gun. A plurality of these projectiles 10 may be loaded into the gun 30 such that the projectiles 10 may be launched from the gun 30 in quick succession. Upon loading the projectiles 10 into the gun 30, the gun 30 is made ready to fire the projectiles 10 onto the target 26. Since the gun 30 is a unidirectional weapon, the gun 30 may be pointed or otherwise aimed at the target 26 and the projectile 10 fired toward the target 26. Upon firing the projectile 10, the projectile 10 does not break apart in the barrel 28 of the gun 30 due to its construction and the strong and resilient material forming the shell 12. As the projectile 10 travels through the air, the projectile 10 remains intact such that the substance 22 is still encapsulated within the shell's cavity 18. Upon impact, as shown in FIG. 3, the shell 12 breaks apart. More particularly, at least some of the grooves 14 split apart providing passageways 40 (or cracks) for the substance 22 to escape from the shell's cavity 18. The passageways 40 release the mixture 20 of the filler 24 and the substance 22 onto the target 26 and into the air in a cloud-like manner. Although not shown, the target 26 (e.g., person) may inhale the substance 22 and the person's motor function may be inhibited by the substance 22.

Additional modifications and improvements of the present invention may also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the particular combination of parts described and illustrated herein is intended to represent only certain embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to serve as limitations of alternative devices within the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A projectile comprising: a) a shell having a plurality of grooves extending between a south pole and a north pole on its exterior surface and an inner cavity; and b) an inhibiting substance disposed within the shell's cavity in an amount equal to about 2% or less of the cavity volume; c) wherein the projectile may be fired from an projectile projecting device and breaks up upon impact with a target thereby releasing the inhibiting substance in a cloud form such that the target inhales the inhibiting substance and the target is physically affected.
 2. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the shell is fabricated from a polymer material.
 3. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the inhibiting substance is a powder, particulate, gelatin, or liquid.
 4. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the inhibiting substance inhibits motor functions of a human being.
 5. The projectile of claim 4 wherein the inhibiting substance is pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum powder, tear gas or smoke.
 6. The projectile of claim 1 wherein each groove has a V shaped configuration.
 7. The projectile of claim 6 wherein bottom portions of the grooves have flat bottoms.
 8. The projectile of claim 6 wherein the grooves are joined by peaks collectively forming a spherical surface.
 9. The projectile of claim 8 wherein the spherical surface formed collectively by the peaks are concentric with an interior surface of the shell.
 10. The projectile of claim 1 further comprising an inert filler disposed within the shell's cavity.
 11. The projectile of claim 10 wherein the filler and the inhibiting substance fills the entire cavity of the shell.
 12. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the plurality of grooves are equidistantly spaced apart about an axis of symmetry.
 13. The projectile of claim 12 having eighteen grooves.
 14. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the plurality of grooves is a plurality of grooves pairs which are equidistantly spaced apart from adjacent groove pairs.
 15. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the shell has a spherical configuration.
 16. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the grooves have a linear configuration, squiggly configuration or a saw tooth configuration.
 17. The projectile of claim 1 wherein the inhibiting substance is present in the shell's cavity in an amount equal to approximately 1% by volume of said cavity. 